


A New Parade of Faith and Sparks

by braindelete



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Gen, Steve Rogers Feels, The Avengers never say thank you, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 03:36:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/657603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/braindelete/pseuds/braindelete
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve realizes that Tony uses his inventions to connect with the Avengers and show affection. Tony isn't entirely sure that he likes Steve being wise to his motives. Peter's there for a plot device.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Parade of Faith and Sparks

"Holy crap, that has got to be the coolest thing I have ever seen. Cap, have you seen this?!"

Steve turned, pulling the cowl from his face to where Peter Parker sat watching as Tony Stark knelt in front of him, balancing on one knee, smearing a line of clear liquid skin sealant over the wound in Peter's leg with a steady hand. The wound almost instantly disappeared, as if it had never been there, as if by magic. Peter grinned at his approach, still head to toe in costume, save for the exposed skin on his leg where the fabric had ripped when he'd been wounded.

They were in the quinjet, its engines on autopilot as Tony did the quick first aid.

"That is something..." Steve commented with a bit of surprised awe at how quickly Peter's wound vanished.

"Just stay off it until the sealant is dry and you shouldn't have a problem," Tony stood up from where he'd been kneeling, dusting off his pant legs as he did so.

Tony was already Tony again, having shucked the protective layering of metal that made him Iron Man. He ran a hand through his hair and placed the vial into the pocket of the wrinkled business suit he'd been wearing before they were called away. Steve looked him over a second, thinking Tony looked a bit exhausted.

"Maybe you should take it easy too, Tony." Steve suggested.

Tony raised a brow and gave him a smirk before waving his hand to brush off Steve's concern.

"I'll be fine... right now I have to go teleconference the meeting I exited."

Steve watched Tony disappear through the door to another section of the quinjet. He looked back at Peter. The seal had dried quickly and Peter was moving around trying to test the durability of his synthetic band-aid skin. He grinned and looked over at Steve.

"Seriously... this stuff is so cool!"

"That sure is something, Peter."

 

\--------

 

They'd already arrived back at the tower before Steve saw Tony again. Everyone else had ventured out to handle their own business and Jarvis had told him that Tony had decided he was going to finish his work from home to avoid sleeping in his office... again. He found Tony sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee, looking over some plans on the table, sheets of large grid paper spread out haphazardly in front of him that Steve figured were for whatever Stark Industries was up to now. He stood there watching Tony, thinking over the years he'd known the man.

Tony was not the kind of guy to openly admit how he felt about other people. Tony was not quick to say he loved someone or even that he liked someone and yet countless times the man had donated his time and energies to their team. From the armor he wore in battle, to the quinjet, to even that sealant that everyone, including himself, overlooked. He'd watched Tony while away days in his labs building and creating things for them, for the Avengers.

He'd even personally helped out Spider-Man today.

"How's Peter?" Tony asked, not looking up from his work.

Steve couldn't stop the smile at Tony's concern. "He's alright. Excited to show off his miracle healing. You did a good thing with him, using that sealant."

Tony feigned a dramatic sob, his hand over his heart in his best Sally Field impression. "I like you. I really like you!"

He laughed at his own joke before returning his attention to the work in front of him. Steve smirked, though he wasn't sure he got the joke.

They'd repaid him with turning their backs on him the moment there was a sign of trouble. Most recently, they'd accused him of falling off the wagon when Wanda had manipulated him into attacking the delegate from Latvaria. He'd told them that he hadn't been drinking and instead of trusting him as their teammate, they'd accused him and hurt him.

"Also... I wanted to say that, on behalf of all of us... I'm sorry about what happened before we found out about Wanda. We shouldn't have accused you so quickly or made you feel defensive. You were just as confused as we were. We had no right to assume you were lying about the drinking, even if I did tell you I believed you." Steve hadn't meant to blurt it all out like that, but there it was.

Tony didn't turn or take his attention from the work in front of him.

"It's no big deal. You know now that I wasn't drunk. Forget about it." Tony shrugged it off.

Yet even after that, here he was: sitting alone in a pillar of architectural brilliance that he'd given up to the new team of Avengers.

"Tony..."

Tony looked up from his work, looking over his shoulder at Steve, giving him a smirk. It seemed as though Tony assumed he'd got no more work done as long as Steve wanted to talk about the past. Tony would have won that bet.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be off... in the gym or something. You know, I designed it with your specifications in mind from the one in the..." he stopped, swallowing a little. "Well, you know."

There was a pause of silence that filled the room that was nearly deafening.

Steve nodded finally. Losing the mansion had probably been harder on Tony than anyone else, and then he'd lost his friends and a woman he'd loved all within a matter of weeks. Tony had been through a lot lately.

"I was about to go down there I just saw you here and..." Steve shrugged a little as he spoke. "I just wanted to say thank you."

Tony furrowed his brows appearing confused. "What? Why?"

Steve shook his head and then approached the couch a bit so Tony didn't have to turn around anymore. Tony's eyes followed him, his body shifting to the new viewpoint of Steve being in front of him.

"You do all these things for us... the mansion, the quinjet, that skin sealant... the new tower... hell, even Iron Man. And I don't think any of us have ever said thank you or showed you any appreciation. So I'm saying it now, long overdue."

Tony looked at him over for a second with a hint of something in his eyes, maybe his own gratitude, maybe a sparkle of emotion but it was quickly dismissed by a dismissive and modest shrug.

"Don't worry about it. I do them because I want to. I can't be a mad scientist if I'm not inventing weird things in my laboratory now can I?"

Steve laughed despite himself and shook his head. He knew Tony appreciated the thank you but also knew the man would play it off like it was nothing, just as he had done. He nodded to him and then turned to leave.

"I think I'll check out that gym."

"Don't pull anything..." Tony replied, going back to his work.

Steve left the room, glancing over his shoulder one more time at Tony sitting on the couch looking over his papers. He could see his shoulders had slumped a little and there might have been a moment where he saw Tony reach up to wipe his face.

He wouldn't mention that later. He'd let Tony believe that he'd dismissed Steve's thank yous because that was how he worked and Steve wouldn't have Tony any other way.

Fin


End file.
